The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

4125.0: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 12:50 PM

Abstract #43241

"Engaging the Public in Bioethics and Public Health: Methods and Experiences of Eliciting and Incorporating the Values and Priorities of Marginalized Communities"

Catherine Myser, PhD, Bioethics and Culture Consultant, Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics, 4614 Edgewood Avenue, Oakland, CA 94602 and Douglas K. Taylor, PhD, Executive Director, Southeast Community Research Center, 442 Seminole Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30307, 404/394-3263, catmyser@hotmail.com.

In the USA to date, the fields of bioethics and even public health have not involved the public in any substantive way in the development of ethical standards and policies. Lack of public input is nowhere more pronounced and pernicious than in communities of color and other marginalized populations. This resounding silence impoverishes the work of bioethics and public health, and does social injustice to marginalized communities.

To remedy this silence and social injustice, and to enrich democratic decision-making in bioethics and public health, Tuskegee University's National Center for Bioethics is employing community-based participatory research methodologies to incorporate the values and priorities of communities of color. In this paper we will describe our work, the goals of which include: 1) establishing a sustainable mechanism by which marginalized groups can participate in bioethics and public health research and policy-making; 2) articulating a robust understanding of African-American and other minority perspectives on bioethics issues for popular and professional consumption (e.g., to revise bioethical standards as appropriate); and 3) expanding the category of issues considered appropriate for the "ethics" field to address.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant-learner will be able to

Keywords: Bioethics, Community Collaboration

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The Ethics of Democratic Decision-Making in Public Health Policy

The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA